Added on Saturday, March 5, 2022  Fish Post

Hatteras/Ocracoke – March 2022

Ryan, of Hatteras Jack, reports that puppy drum action in the surf along the southern beaches has been really good. Some anglers are reporting schools all the way up onto the Rodanthe beachfront.

Plenty of dogfish sharks and skates are around for anglers bottom fishing deeper holes up and down the beach.

Sea mullet are starting to slowly move in, with numbers only picking up over the next few weeks.

Anglers in the sounds are already seeing a few speckled trout and groups of jumping mullet around. This is a great sign that springtime fishing is right around the corner.

Surf anglers will be looking out for the big red drum to move in around the Point and beaches of Ocracoke over the next few weeks.

Offshore anglers are finding strong action on the catch-and-release bluefin tuna that are hovering in the area, and yellowfin and bigeye tuna will start to be mixed in going into March.

John, of Frank and Fran’s, reports that anglers have been catching some nice puppy drum while targeting holes on the southern island beaches.

A few sea mullet are starting to show up for anglers bottom fishing with cut shrimp, and hard-fighting dogfish sharks are still plentiful for anglers fishing cut baits.

As water temperatures keep warming over the next few weeks, look for the sea mullet to start showing up in greater numbers.

The large, trophy-sized red drum also start to move in around this time. Areas such as the Point tend to see some of the earliest action.

 

Victoria, of Teach’s Lair, reports that anglers look forward to offshore water temperatures moving up a little and kicking off springtime fishing action.

Trolling trips will have their efforts focused on the tuna run, with a mix of blackfin tuna and some yellowfins moving in over the month of March.

Large wahoo and the occasional king mackerel will be mixed in the action for anglers fishing out along the break.

Inshore anglers are looking for signs of bait moving inshore to pull the speckled trout out of their wintering holes. Look for the trout to be feeding on baits in deeper channels and on nearby flats.

Surf anglers have been seeing good red drum action along the beaches. This bite should stay solid over the next few weeks and possibly be joined by the citation-class reds moving in from off the beach.

 

Joey, of Fingeance Sportfishing, reports that schools of sea mullet will be one of the first species to begin showing up in the channels as they push in from off the beach.

Around this same time, anglers will start targeting the puppy and citation-class drum that are pushing into the sounds. Anchoring up in holes or along channels around the inlet and then bottom fishing with cut mullet or tuna belly will produce some strikes.

The striped bass and shad action is fired up on the mainland river systems off the Albemarle Sound. Both species make a move from the sounds up to their spawning grounds, and this migration makes for large, congregated schools and great catching action.

 

Jeremy, of Calypso Sportfishing, reports that offshore anglers look forward to the season kicking off around the end of March going into April. Weather conditions around this time start to stabilize, making for successful and comfortable days on the water.

Anglers anticipate large wahoo mixed in with tuna being the first catches thrown into the fish box.

Some of the larger, early season dolphin could also be arriving around this same time frame.

Alan, of Tradewinds Tackle, reports that anglers are looking forward to more stable weather patterns bringing in the spring fishing action.

Schools of puppy drum are already active from the Ocracoke beaches to areas up around the Point. Not far behind them tend to be the spring run of large citation-class reds. They could be showing by the end of March.

Bottom fishing action will pick up more in the coming weeks as water temperatures along the beach rise.